A divided state legislature grappling to meet a midnight budget deadline found time Monday to unite and pass a bill to strengthen Pennsylvania’s hit-and-run law in honor of little Kevin Miller from Dallas.

Gov. Tom Corbett moved swiftly after the 49-1 vote to sign the bill into law Monday night as dozens of the late 5-year-old’s loved ones looked on and applauded.

“It’s a pleasure for me to do this and do this so quickly — particularly at a time that is difficult to get things done in this building,” Corbett said.

Wearing matching yellow T-shirts urging lawmakers to toughen the state’s hit-and-run law, family and friends of Kevin Miller descended upon the state capital on Monday to push for the change they called “Kevin’s Law.” Under the law change, the penalty for those who flee fatal crashes will be increased to a mandatory minimum of three years in prison, up from the current penalty of one year.

"Right now, I have to believe Kevin is looking down from heaven and saying, 'Mommy, I helped make a change for the better,'" Caroline Miller said in a tearful speech after the Senate vote. "That is all any of us could hope to do in their life and that is what Kevin and 'Kevin’s Law' has done today in the state of Pennsylvania."

Prior to the vote, state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, urged her colleagues to vote to end a “notorious flaw” in Pennsylvania law. Under current law, the mandatory minimum penalty for drivers in fatal hit and run crashes was one year in prison, which critics said encouraged drunk drivers to flee.

Earlier this morning, family and friends gathered before leaving on a bus for Harrisburg.

“We’ve been fighting for this since the day we lost our precious Kevin. To get to this point means so much for us,” Kevin’s mother, attorney Caroline Miller, said before leaving for Harrisburg. “I just pray that the law in Pennsylvania will change today and Kevin’s law will be the new law, the right law.”

The Miller family and their supporters were seated in the gallery overlooking the Senate floor as Monday’s session began around 1 p.m.

“We have a sea of yellow — a sea of yellow for Kevin Miller,” Baker said. “This is Kevin’s Army.”

Later Monday, the Senate will vote on the bill, which passed the state House 199-2 on Friday.

“Kevin’s Army is here to ask for our support,” Baker said.

After the introduction, senators looked up and applauded the Miller family.

Among those in the gallery were Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce. Assistant District Attorney Mamie Phillips and former Assistant District Attorney Alexis Falvello, the prosecutors in the case against the driver who fled, were also in the gallery.

"In our opinion, the law is flawed," said Salavantis, who advocated for the law change after a series of fatal hit-and-run cases in Luzerne County. "We want to right that wrong. The whole prosecution team (in the Miller case) is here to see it through."

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055 @cvbobkal

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.